No protesters, just 1 kill at New Mexico coyote contest

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Only one coyote had been shot so far and no protesters showed up at a New Mexico gun shop sponsoring a coyote hunting contest this weekend.

The business manager of Gunhawk Firearms in Los Lunas says so far only TV and radio reporters milling in the shop’s parking lot were the biggest problem the hunt created.

Animal activists and the state’s trust land commissioner were incensed when Gunhawk owner Mark Chavez said he’d go ahead with the hunt despite the protests.

Gunhawk’s Rick Grosse said Saturday each of about 100 hunters signed a pledge to only hunt on private land with the owner’s permission. He says there’s no shortage of hunting spots, because many ranchers lose cattle to coyotes and are happy to see them gone.